Sorting-machine.



No. 754,390. PATENTED MAR. s, 1904. J. RIDDLEBAUGH.

SORTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APB. 25, 1963. N0 MODEL. 8 BvIlETl-BHE'ETI- 'is Avg v i j H s No. 754,390.` 'y l PATBNTED MAR..8, 1904 J. RIDDLEBAUGH. soRTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APB. 26. 1903.

N0 MODEL. SHEETB-BHEET 2.

? mi! www fff/un e A ...I

Jaya/dor" 9%@ 52mg?, /uadv/'ezwg IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIW No. 754,390. y PATBNTED MAR. s, 19,04,A

J. RIDDLEBAUGH. soRTING MACHINE.

Arrrzonzon rrLnn un. 25. moa

no uonnL. a saline-suur a.

'ff llllllllll llllllllillllllllA diag@ 4I lNrri-LD STATES Patented Maa-chE, 1904.

PATENT" OFFICE.

.roi-1N RIDDLEAUGH, or sHAigrsBURe, PENNSYLVANIA, lAssIerNon 'ro LUrz a scHRAMM coMPANYmnALLEeH-ENY, PENNSYLVANIA, ALCOR- PORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

somme-MACHINE.

srncrrcATIoNfoming part of Letters Patent No. "154,390, dated march s, 1904.

AApplication filed April Z5,

To all whom may concern: I

Be it `known that I, JOHN RiDDLEBAUGma citizen of the United States of America, residing atv Sharpsburg, in the `county of Allegheny and State oi Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sorting- Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to theac'- companying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and. useful improvements in sorting-machines; and the object of the invention is to provide means for mechanically separating or sorting different-'sized articles and delivering or discharg--' I5 ing the several dierent sizes of the articles separately. V

As practiced by me the machine or apparatus involved in the present invention has been employed fory separating or sorting the 2O different sizes of vegetables and has been particularly employed for the sorting of cucumbers or other vegetables into the dierent standard commercial sizes, thoughthe inven- 4 tion is by no means conned to this particular use and may be employed in any connecf tion where articles -of diierent sizesJare-fed into the machine together to be discharged or vdelivered from the machine with each size separate.

In describing the invention in detail, however, l will refer to the' same `specifically in*l 'connection with that use which'I have made of the same-namely, the sorting of cucumbers into several dierent sizes for piek-ling; 55 and the object of the invention is to construct a machine of this character in'whichthe cucumbers as they are received at the piekling `factory in all sizes are fed into the machine and conveyed to va plurality of rolls-arranged 4 40 in stepped pairs, the `pass between each pair Y of the rolls decreasing in size from the upper to theE lower ,paircof rolls, whereby the cucumbers are sorted into several. different sizes, and each size is delivered from the machine to a separate receptacleprovided to receive 2kb same. "In the employment of a machine ol" lthis purpose I preferably construct the samet portable, whereby it may be moved from one 190s. sanar. 154,317, (rameau.)

tank to anotherwvitliinthe pickling establishment, and thereby verymaterially facilitate the l Wvork, not requiri the\carting or carrying of the articles-to any f le point within the establishrnent, and in acc I preferably provide a' -driwing power on the machine, and in the present lllustration I have shown a motor mounted on th \machine, though I do not wish to be understood as coniining myself to this mode of drivin the machine,v

as it will he readily apparent\that the inachine could be driven through the v'medium of any suitable or desired power.

Briefly described, myinvention maybe said to comprise a supporting-framework in which is journaleda pluralityv of rolls arranged in pairs at an incline, one above the other.V Means are provided for driving these rolls sil multaneously, and separate delivery or discharging means is provided for each pair of the rolls;` The framework supports an elevator or carrier, driving means being provided therefor, and the articles to be sorted-are fed to the Acarrier from a hopper supported thereon. The carrier takes thearticle's fromv the hopperpand delivers them to ythe rolls, where they are sorted intothe dierentsizes, as will I be more fully explained hereinafter. In connection with the carrier or elevating mechanism I preferably provide a regulator orv knocker to prevent the'overcrowding of the carrier. Y.

Such other details as enter into my linvention will be hereinafter more speciiically described, and then particularly'po'inted out in the appended claims, and in describing the invention in detail reference will be had to the i accompanying'drawings, formi ng a part ci' this application, and wherein like numerals of reference will be employed to designate like parts throughout the different views of the drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my improved sorting-machine. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of thesame. Fig. 3'is a-front View thereof.l Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken in front of the'rolls with. the elevator removed. Fig. 5 'is a central vertical sectional dance with this principle I a part of the delivery end of one of the rolls,

si'wing a part of the spout and the deliverys 1 e.

In the invention as ithas been practiced by me I have employed a skeleton framework loi' supporting the rolls and'elevator Ior carnier. It will of course be evident that any desirable or suitable form of supportingframe may be employed, and thelmachine may be made stationary instead of portable, as I have shown the same. .A practical embodi-` ment of the device is, however, shown herein, and in this illustration 1 represents the four vertical standards, uprights, or corner-posts of the frame; 2, the two upper `side bars; 3, the two lower side bars; 4, the cross-bars, on which the corner-posts are supported, and4 5' the cross-bars connecting the vupper and lower side bars. The cross-bars 4 4 are preferably mounted on casters or rollers 6,so that the machine may be easily moved from one point to another within the building. The lower side rails 3 are extended out infront of the front corner-posts l for a considerable distance, and the upper side bars 2 are also extended slightly beyond the front corner-posts in order to conveniently support the elevator. Mounted between the rear corner-posts 11 and also between the front corner-postsl are supporting-bars Tand 8, respectively. These supporting-bars are of the same form and are larranged one above the other, with their faces atan incline, and in practice I have conveniently attached or secured the bars by simply bending' up the ends thereof at right angles', whereby to engage the corner-posts and permit of their being bolted or otherwise secured thereto. The supporting-bars 8 are arranged at a height on the posts considerably above the bars 7 on the rear corner-posts, and each of these bars carries a pair of bearings 9 to re ceive the spindles or shafts on the ends of the respective rolls. These bearings are made adjustable on the supporting-bars, whereby the width oi' the pass between each pair of rolls lnay be varied or regulated, and this may be accomplished in any desired manner, as by the provision of threaded adjusting-rods 10 and turnbuckles 11, as shown. In this illustration I have shown four palrs of rolls, (designated, respectively, 14, 15, 16, and 17 .)A These rolls are arranged at an incline, their forward ends being considerably above the rear ends, and

the shafts or spindles 18 at the upper or for?Y ward ends of the rolls are extended some distance beyond the ends of the rolls and carry sprocket-wheels 19. The rolls, as stated, are arranged in pairs,one pair above the other, and the passes between each pair of rollsdecrease in size from the upper to the lower pair of rolls, whereby the cucumbers or other articles of smaller size successively pass through the various pairs of rolls until they reach a pass too sm all for their passage therethrough, and they "delivery spout or chute 22.

are then conducted'by this particular pair of rolls to the delivery spout or chute. As I '.have herein shown four pairs of rolls, it is to be noted that a machine thus constructed would assortA the lcucumbers or other vegetables into live sizes.' First, all cucumbers or other vegetables of a size small enough to permit their passage through between each pair of rolls would be discharged into a suitable receptacle 20, provided therefor underneath the rollsu The next larger size would pass through .be-

lower end and discharged through spout `21-` into a suitable receptacle to be' provided therefor. The next larger size would be carried Off by pair'of rolls 16 and discharged through The succeeding size would be carried off by pair of rolls 15 and discharged through 'spout or chute 23, and thefifth'or largest size would be that size which was too large to pass between any of the pairs ,of rolls and-would be carried downby rolls 14 and discharged 4through spout 24.. Each pair of rollsis driven so that they turn tween' rolls 14,l 15, and 16, but would be pre vented from passing between 4rolls 17 andy would be carried down by these rolls to theirv outwardly or away from each other, and conseq uently the. cucumbers or other vegetables are not' drawn into the rolls; but, on the contrary,'those sizes will go through the passes, fall until such time as they engage in a. pass too small for them to pass through, when the rolls Vcarry them to the lower end thereof and discharge them through the respective spout orchute. The rolls are driven through the medium of a sprocket-chain 25, which passes' over the sprocketwheels in a manner bestseen in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This chain passes also over a sprocket 26,` supported at a convenient 4point `by the framework and at its lower end over a regulating-sprocket 27. Any

desired form of ytightening means is provided in connection with this sprocket 27, whereby the chain may be tightened or slackened, as required. The chain is in turn driven by mounting on the extended spindle of one of the upper pair ofrolls a bevel-gear 28, which meshes with'a smaller bevel-pinion 29, carried on the drive-shaft 30. This drive-shaft is mounted in suitable bearings carried -by the supporting-frame and is provided at its one enclwith a belt-wheel 31 to receive the belt 32, passing over said Wheel and over the beltwheel 33 on the shaft of the driving-motor 34. As before stated, this is my preferredform of driving means where electricity is. to. be had, and when so constructing the machine as a portable one I. may mount the controllingswitch 35 in the framework,y as shown. It will of course be evident that where it is not desired to have a portable machine that the same may be driven by a belt onto the pulley' 31 from an overhead shaft or the like.. Supported by the framework at the front of the machine and at an angle of approximately IOO Ins

ISO

38. Thevcarrier travels over pulleys 39 40 at' the upper and lower ends of the elevator-casing, respectively,the shaft 41 of the roller or drum 39 qbeing journaled in the upper end of the elevatorcasing and in a standard `42,l carried by the framework. On thisl shaft 41 is mounted a sprocket-Wheel- 43, which re.- IO ceives the drive-chain 44, passing thereover and over a sprocket-Wheel 45, carried by the drive-shaft 30, whereby motion is communicated to the carrier or elevator simultaneously y,with the driving of` the rolls. I 5/ of the roller or drum 40 extends through slots 47, provided therefor in the side walls of the elevator-casing, and is journaled in bearings 48, to which adjusting means 49 is connected, whereby the carrier may be tightened or slackened, as\ may be desired or required. The front of the elevator-casing is open, and mounted on this casing is asuitable hopper 50, into which the cucumbers or other articles to be sorted are fed or dumped* In order to prevent the crowding or overloading of the carrier, l provide regulating means, which I have generally termed a knocker, which consists of a member 51, hinged to a crosspiece 52 in the hopper 50 and having its free end in engagement with the carrier, thuspreventing the articlesfrom piling'up to too great anr extent in front of each bucket or cross-piece on the endless belt or carrier. rlhe pickles or other articles are discharged y into a spout 53, which is the termination of the elevator-casing, and in practice I have generallydischarged from this spo-ut into a hopper 54, placed directly above the upper pair of rolls at the-upper end thereof. I em- 40 ploy this hopper so that, if desired, thecucumbers or other articles may be fed from above directly thereto without the employment of the elevator; butin all cases where thecucumbers are stored on the same floor of the build- 45 ing as the machine is located upon it will be found preferable and desirable to employ the elevator for conducting the same to the rolls, as such means avoids lifting of the cucumbers up to the top of the-rolls, as would be required if they were deposited direct in the hopper 54 without the employment of the elevator.

In the sorting of cucumbers it is customary..

to take the cucumbers as they are received at 55 the pickling establishment and sort the same into ten ,commercial sizes. As this work is y at present done by hand, it will be observed that it is necessaryfor the sorter to have ten v, difieren-t receptacles into .which the ten differ l ent sizes are placed. The wor'k cannot be done accurately, as many of the sizes are displaced through error. -By the `use of my improved 'machine kfor sorting`=the cucumbers itv will be observed that .this worki'of sorting is materially facilitatedand'made more accurate,

Tue shaft 46 I as the machine sorting the cucumbers into five .different sizes itis only necessary that each one of the different sizes separated by the machine be sorted by hand into two sizes. This is of course where. four pairs of rolls though it will be evident that the numbers of pairs of rolls may be increased, so vas to sort more different sizes. In practice, however, I have found a machine constructed in accordance with the present illustration answers the requirements and demands.

In practice' I have found that the cucumbers too large to pass between a certain pair of rolls assume a practically vertical position while traveling or being carried down to the lower end of the rolls to be' discharged, and in order to insure the discharge of the cucumbers at the lower ends ofthe rolls I provide a tilter, which consists of aplate or strip 55,

are employed, as in the present illustration,

supp'brted on the supporting-bars 8 at the lower ends of the roils and extending into the base betweenthe rolls for a short distance and lying at an. incline reverse to the inclination of the rolls. Thus 'as the cucumbers are carried down and `they strike the up'perend of this' tilter the cucumbers are thrown into a practically horizontal position and are discharged into the delivery-spouts.

It is believed that the operation and construction of the device Will be clearly apparent from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and; it will be noted that various changes may be made in the details of construction without I oo departing from the general spirit of my iu- Vention.

Havingrfully described Pny-invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters per arranged adjacent one end of the upper I pair of rolls, and a separatedelivering means for the respective pairs cf rolls arranged at the opposite ends thereof.

2. In a machine of the type set forth, 'a lmeans for assorting vegetables and the like comprising' a pluralitymf V.pairs of roiis ai ranged in vertical alinement and in planes having a common inclination, the rolls ofthev respectivevpairs being spaced apart to form vpasses with the passes decreasing in width from the upper pair, said rolls being inclined common planes, and means for rotating the rolls of the respective pair in opposite directions. Y ,Y

3. .In a sorting-machine, the combination Awith a plurality of pairs of rolls, of means for imparting movement thereto, separatel spou-ts iarrangedadjacent the ends of each pair of chain passing over said last-named wheels and enga-ging the wheels of the respective pairs of rolls on common sides, and means for imparting movement to said chain.

In testimony whereof 1 aix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

\ JOHN RIDDLEBAUGH.

rolls, and tilter-plates having one of their ends projecting into said spouts and their other ends extending into the spaces between said rolls, substantially as described. 5 4, In a machine of the type set forth, a plurality of pairs of rolls arranged in vertical alinernent, a frame for supporting the same, sprocket-Wheels arranged on the ends of said rolls, a sprocket-wheel journal'ed beneath said first-named wheels, a sprocket-wheel arranged above said first-named wheels, an endless Witnesses:

A. M. WILSON, C. F. HARwooD. 

